Bless Tierra Whack and her kooky production value. On “Peppers and Onions,” she harnesses her regular technicolor to illustrate a twitchy internal monolog on the pressures of being a role model. Punctuated by private tics like whistles and tongue clicks, she sings, “I’m only human— I’m not perfect, just a person.” And because the narrative looks inward, you can conveniently sub it in for your own self-talk. Trade brains!
What words come to mind when you think of a farm? “Cow,” perhaps. “Silo”? How about “vending machine”? The news from France (besides Macron’s status) is that farmers are starting to sell straight off their land through refrigerated automats, which are effectively unmanned farm stands. This no-human-interaction development is, predictably, a response to all the logistical nightmares involved in transporting and selling food during Covid— but like so many of those developments, it may be a perfectly good strategy once Covid is over. Selling direct-to-consumer, as we well know, means that producers can keep more of their own profit and relieve customers of extra markup. This means that farmers can provide food to their communities at affordable prices— and as a side benefit, Amazon doesn’t monopolize our food chain.
Far afield from the French countryside, New York City is about to roll out a free delivery and payment platform for restaurants who can no longer serve guests in person. What’s effectively a non-predatory GrubHub (which cuts almost all a restaurant’s profits through its service fees) is set to run through April, allowing more small businesses to list themselves online for broader reach. If you’re reading outside New York, this may be old news to you, since Chicago, Toronto and LA all adopted this platform already. But in restaurant aid as in, ahem, a second stimulus plan, better late than never.
If we care about the food we eat, shouldn’t our booze should follow the same rules? Based in Sonoma, Haus makes a line of all-natural apéritifs, low-ABV spirits that have been popular in Europe for centuries. Instead of using lab-made flavors, Haus sources the highest quality fruits, herbs, and botanicals for a sip that you can enjoy on the rocks or with simple mixers without worrying about how you’ll feel the next day. If flavors like Bitter Clove, Ginger Yuzu, and Spiced Cherry sound good to you, go ahead and start sipping.